Pink and Gray Ballroom Wedding with Music Theme by Project Duo Photography: Ashley and James -Munaluchi Bride

Ashley and James knew that they wanted to have a big wedding celebration, that honored their love for their family, their love for music (James is a professional musician who plays for Bruno Mars), and most importantly, their love for each other. However, like many couples Ashley and James knew they were going to need lots of help to pull off their dream wedding . All of their worries were put to rest when they walked into Studio Wed Atlanta. They were able to find all of their vendors, including their wonderful planner Michelle Gainey of Lemiga Events. Soon their music themed wedding dreams were coming to life, with a gorgeous ballroom venue, a vibrant pink and gray color scheme that included pink uplighting, gray linens and eye catching magenta flowers, and stationery that contained musical notes to honor James’ talent. They even had guests sign in on old record albums! The couple’s personality really showed through in their first dance, in which they grooved to a compilation of songs, including Etta James’ “At Last,” and Old School and New School Hip Hop. You are sure to find plenty of wedding inspiration in heartwarming wedding, which was masterfully photographed by Project Duo Photography!

Bride: Ashley McKinnie-Assistant Director of After School & Summer Camp Program
Groom: James King- Musician
Wedding Date: 05/17/2013
Wedding Venue: The Biltmore Ballrooms-Atlanta, GA

Description of Event

The planning process for us wasn’t too bad. After James proposed in April 2012, we almost immediately began to look at venues. I will forever remember how my heart melted when we walked into the Biltmore Ballroom. It was my first time in this venue, but James had seen before so he said, “I knew you were going to like this.” Then we went to an event at “Studio Wed” which I’d like to call the wedding need warehouse. Yet, it’s a cute space, but in there are top vendors that can get it all done for your wedding. Because of Studio Wed we first found our planner Michelle Gainey of Lemiga Events. Her portfolio is amazing and her attention to detail made us comfortable in knowing nothing will go undone throughout the whole process. She was so well connected, negotiated all of our contracts and even went to all of our vendor meetings with us (asked all the questions we wouldn’t have even known to ask). We left Studio Wed not only with a planner but our photographers, linen, cake, catering, stationary, videography and more from Studio Wed. A one stop shop!

One challenge was as most females I had planned my wedding long before a proposal. So there were times I couldn’t accurately articulate what I saw in my mind and couldn’t find a picture either to give an example. Nonetheless, my vendors were so great that my dream was executed very well. Our second challenge was planning our wedding around James work schedule.

Throughout the process what I most appreciated was James. He came to majority of our meetings. Though he didn’t say much he definitely let me know if he didn’t like something. Also, it was great to be able to have that dialogue with him regarding the process and different items because after all it was for us (laughs).

One important piece of planning was to make sure that on our special day my dad, who’s deceased, was a part. I’m a true daddy’s girl and forever will be his princess. To accomplish this we had a picture of him in our cocktail hour area and a rose in a chair during the ceremony. This meant everything to not only me but James also. Though James never met him, he knew how much I adored and love him.

One part of the wedding process that was fun to us was our attire. Typically the bride’s dress is the only piece of attire unknown. Yet, in our case James picked the groomsmen whole ensemble including the tie. This was a secret along with his everything he wore except his shoes and socks which he let me see. So the day of the wedding we were both glowing as we were checking each other’s “fit” out.

One thing we didn’t know was how intricate everything was. I remember our stationary meeting where we chose invitations, save the dates, menu cards, etc. It was what font for this, what size font, horizontal, vertical, size of the paper, and so on and so on. We were like wow I didn’t know all of the decisions we would have to make.

Lastly, I think it’s important to plan to give great gifts to those who accept the invitation of being in the wedding ( bridesmaids/maid of honor, bestman/groomsman). They have to purchase attire, shoes, maybe get a flight, an extra day at hotel and just spend so much to be a part. Therefore, I think as the bride and groom it’s important to give them something back to show your appreciation. So putting together the gifts for my ladies was fun. Making sure I got them something they can use again and they would remember was great for me.

Wedding Style

Wedding Dress Shopping was the easiest for me, but I thought it was going to be the hardest. My mom was passing through town and I asked her if I could show her the type of dress I had been looking at. We made an impromptu visit to the bridal salon and the fifth and final dress I tried on was my dress without a doubt. It was everything that I had dreamed. I followed the advice of my mom and didn’t take any pictures in my gown, so it would be a surprise to everyone. Oh the looks of my maid of honor/bridesmaids when I got fully dressed and they saw me for the first time ignited tears. So in June I walked away with my dress, veil and tiara.

I would advise brides to search online prior to going to the store to get a sense of what you like. This will allow you to capitalize on your time in the store to try on styles you like. There are so many styles and this can be very overwhelming. Lastly, don’t dress shop with a lot of people (more than 2). This day is about you and what you like not what your friends and family have envisioned for you. Choose the dress you honestly love.

Most Memorable Moment

Our Wedding Dance. We had a compilation of seven different songs that started and ended with a Etta James classic “At Last.” In between it was a fun energetic and trendy dance with even some moves from the movie “House Party.” This dance gave the wedding even more of “J’Ashley McKing” experience. Song list:

At Last
Ain’t My Type of Hype
Doing the Butt
Crank That (Soulja Boy)
Teach Me How to Dougie
Swag Surfin
Beef It up
At Last

Loving You is Easy

From the Groom…Not only was I captivated by her beauty but her inner person is what pushes me to become all that I am meant to be. There is so much that I love about Ashley it is very difficult to pick just one thing. Since I have to pick one I would have to say her drive for excellence. Her push to be better makes me want to be a better person. That’s why I make sure I am the man she truly deserves. In her I found my best friend, better half and my only confidant.

From the Bride…His love for and faith in God is only the beginning of what I love about James. His love for God makes it easy for me to submit to him knowing he’s following Jesus Christ. He is determined to be the best he can in all areas of life. Watching his continued pursuit to excel as a musician and never giving up reminds me daily that faith plus hard work equal dreams coming true. His passion and effort he gives inspires even me to continue after my dreams.

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